News from the School of Public Health

Research shows that prenatal exposure to air pollution can result in adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight. Studies have concluded that there are significant racial and ethnic disparities in who is most affected by this, but previous research has mostly focused on how maternal characteristics (e.g., race, education, income) amplify the effects of air pollution on birth outcomes.

Story by Sala Levin ’10

A valuable but underutilized resource in the field of maternal health is linked to better pregnancy outcomes and more respectful health care from providers: a doula. 

Heather Platter PhD ’19 received a Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP) Merit Award for her work at the NIH’s National Cancer Institute. This merit award is given to fellows who have distinguished themselves throughout their CPFP fellowship by rising to the highest level of science, leadership and service. 

Jennifer Roberts, associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, was appointed an executive council member for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s

From assuming a female patient is married to a man to using incorrectly gendered language in sessions, mental health providers can exacerbate what is often already a fraught experience for the LGBTQ+ community.